Style

Grateful Dead follows its Nike SB collab with Chinatown Market Crocs

The Deadhead Wave continues with climbing bears and climbing hold charms.

Grateful Dead Crocs

The Deadhead aesthetic is continuing its reign in streetwear, as Chinatown Market unveils an official collaboration with the Grateful Dead and Crocs.

Crocs' clogs, which were once worn ironically and have now become firmly fashionable, have been done up in tie-dye — but the real goodies are in the charms. The Dancing bears have become rock climbers in a set of Jibbitz charms, and they're accompanied by climbing holds that can be affixed to the Crocs.

This makes for a converge of trends, as climbing and Deadheads have become recurrent influences while fashion embraces all things crunchy. It's as if Boulder, Colorado. has replaced Paris as the center of the fashion world. Functional outdoor gear and patterns once reserved for the counterculture are now mainstream.

Missed out on the Dunks? — Nike's official collaboration with the Grateful Dead promptly sold out, commanded insane resale prices, and pissed off a few tried-and-true Deadheads along the way. But the market for Deadhead kicks is growing, with these Chinatown Market Crocs joining Keen's sandal collaboration from the estate of Jerry Garcia.

If anything, both pairs of sandals are more suitable for authentic Deadheads. Neither carries the burden of Nike's problematic labor practices, and the silhouettes are more in line with the Deadhead lifestyle than a pair of sneakers intended for hypebeasts and gobbled up by collectors and resellers. Sandals, too, are having a moment in menswear — but Deadheads have been baring feet before sneakerheads were even a thing.

Hold tight — Chinatown Market has yet to announce a release date for its Grateful Dead Crocs, and the best images of them yet have come from Jeff Staple. They could drop at any moment, as the Los Angeles-based streetwear brand is known for its surprise releases and quick turnaround time for production.

Whenever the Crocs do release, they'll certainly sell out quickly. But the good news is the Keens adorned with Jerry Garcia's artwork are still very much available.